What do I do with this thing?

[hummeri7582]

Hi all,

Total noob. I mean completely new. My level of noob-ness with radio technology will astonish, and perhaps even frighten you. My experience with radios is pretty much limited to operating the one that came with my Volkswagen, even then it's pretty much limited to hooking it up to the iPod and cranking up the volume. Though when I was in the middle east (pre-internet streaming radio days) I used to listen to BBC on a Sony shortwave. Outside that, I have no clue about this stuff.

So you can imagine my surprise when my wealthy, flighty and capricious retired father who changes hobbies as often as he changes underwear sent me his former Uniden BCD996XT, about 100' of two different types of coaxial cable, some adapters, and this friggin' ginormous outdoor antenna. I just came home one day, and FedEX had left the thing sitting on my doorstep.

I can't really sell it. Like most of his "gifts" he'll eventually want to see it when he comes to visit and will inquire after it.

I figured out how to turn it on, and change the color of the backlighting. So far, I think the orange color is niftiest. But I guess it might be neat to actually hear something on it.

I live in the city of St. Louis. I suppose it might be neat to listen to the police in Precincts 2 and 3 of the SLPD (my neighborhood), maybe some airplanes?

How do I hook this thing up and make it do that?

If I use that outdoor antenna, I'm assuming I'd want to setup some sort of ground in case it gets struck by lightning? I'm also guessing the really thick, stiff coax cable is the "outdoor" part, and the thinner stuff is for inside? Or, could I just cheap out and get a telescoping antenna?

My dad also sent along some software and a cable to hook it up to the computer. I'll have to install windows on my Mac to use it. I've read that this software (BuTEL) is used in conjunction with that cable to program the thing, but where do I get the data from?

Is it possible to set up different "modes" for it? i.e.: have one "mode" where it listens to airplanes, and another where it listens to police or something else?

I'm sorry for all the stupid questions. I have no clue what I'm doing. He may as well have sent me a flame gas chromatograph or tunneling electron microscope, since I know about as little about those as I do scanning. The coolest part is, one day he probably will.

Thanks in advance for any input.

 

[joseph2020]

hi Hummer, I am like you, a new guy to all this, bu thanks to the internet I am learning a lot. The first thing you should do is read through the user manual, That will show you how to set up and start using the scanner.
In case you don't have the manual, I looked it up and here's the link to it.:

UnidenScannersUsersGuides < UnidenMan4 < TWiki

Most of the time all you need to do is goggle or yahoo your radio brand, model number and you will get lots of information on ANY radio topic.

I hope that will help. Good luck and have fun.

 

[K9WG]

Welcome

Two suggestions.

1. Local library. See if they have some books on scanners.

2. Find a local Amateur Radio (ham) club. Most menbers would be more then happy to help.

ARRL Club Listings

 

[ka3jjz]

Welcome hummer...

There are many resources here on RR that can get you started. We have an extensive wiki section (the largest on the planet, AFAIK) that covers darn near everything you need to know about scanning. So let's get started - note that anything in blue is a link...

First let's start on the main page...

Main Page - The RadioReference Wiki

Start by reading everything in the newcomers section on the right. Bookmark the Glossary link - no doubt you will come back to it again and again

A bit further down on the right is the link for the Uniden DMA FAQ. This FAQ covers much about radios such as the 996XT. At the bottom of the FAQ you will find links to the Easier to Read manuals. Download the one for the 996XT, and/or consider getting the hard copy version from Scanner Master

There are several apps that are able to download data from our database, but to do that, you need a premium subscription

Premium Subscription Information Page

There's another route to getting data; we have a very busy Missouri forum; make yourself known there. When you decide on what software you are going to use, ask folks for a file. Be specific about the software and scanner you are using; not all formats are interchangeable with one another. In addition there are 2 Yahoo mailing lists, the 2nd of which seems to be quite busy;

ScanMetroStLouis : Scan St. Louis - Metro Area Scanning

StLASE : Saint Louis Area Scanner Enthusiasts

In all 3 cases, you might find someone to help with the antenna. NEVER try to erect an antenna alone! Get some help first. It's quite possible a local ham would be willing and able to help - you never know until you ask

That should be more than enough to get you started. best regards...Mike

 

[GrumpyGuard]

If I use that outdoor antenna, I'm assuming I'd want to setup some sort of ground in case it gets struck by lightning? I'm also guessing the really thick, stiff coax cable is the "outdoor" part, and the thinner stuff is for inside? Or, could I just cheap out and get a telescoping antenna?

The really thick stiff coax is more than likely "hard line". You will want to run that from your antenna down to where you enter your house. You will need to run the coax from outside into your home. You can get a professional look if you purchase a utility box to place on the outside of your home and attach the hard line to it and then on the other side of the wall you can have a outlet for the smaller coax (of course the two boxes will need to be connected to each other). If you have a crawl space under your home then this task will be much easier.
Get a grounding rod and sink it into the ground about 8 to 10 feet and attach a grounding wire from the tower (or whatever you have the antenna attached to) to the grounding rod.

Is it possible to set up different "modes" for it? i.e.: have one "mode" where it listens to airplanes, and another where it listens to police or something else?

Your radio has banks and you can set these banks up however you want.

I'm sorry for all the stupid questions. I have no clue what I'm doing. He may as well have sent me a flame gas chromatograph or tunneling electron microscope, since I know about as little about those as I do scanning. The coolest part is, one day he probably will.

It sound like you have a pretty good grasp on the subject already. This is by far the best site for radio information. Enjoy the new toy your dad sent you and may you have many years of fun with your scanner.

 

[dkisdatrump]

Hi hummeri7582.

Do some reading, ka3jjz gave you some very informative links to read up on.

Also whatever state you are in, keep an eye out for any meetings they might scedule. I've only been to one in my area, but there were some pretty good geeks there to help me get started. I played with mine for 30 days, and couldn't get it figured out.


Them guys had me running in an hour.

 

[ka3jjz]

The 996XT does not have banks in the conventional sense; it does have systems, sites and groups. This is something both newcomers and old timers alike have problems trying to grasp, but once you do, there's a lot of flexibility that you didn't have with banks. And it gets even more interesting with location based scanning...best regards..Mike

 

[RadioDaze]

Hummer, depending on your specific location, you may not need an elaborate outdoor antenna at all in order to get started. If you don't have a simple, back-of-the-set antenna right now, get one of those. Then focus on getting the software set up so that you can program the scanner. Learn how the scanner functions using the previous posters' suggestions. I would bet that more than half of the scanner users on RadioReference forums do not use anything more than a back-of-set antenna, or at most a simple indoor antenna. Proceeding to set up an outdoor antenna without having your scanner programmed and running will be difficult, since you won't be able to evaluate the installation.

 

[Gator596]

Wish I had a wealthy, flighty and capricious retired father who sent me bcd996xts....

 

[RadioDaze]

Wish I had a wealthy, flighty and capricious retired father who sent me bcd996xts....

You do, but he sent it to me instead... guess he always liked me better

 

[RIG]

I get very good reception without an outside antenna. Learn all you can to get the radio up and running and see if you need one outside. Just hearing what's going on in the local surrounding towns as well as where you live is enjoyable. The member here are great and seem to enjoy helping others when needed. Good luck to you.

Rob

 

[hummeri7582]

Welcome hummer...

There are many resources here on RR that can get you started. We have an extensive wiki section (the largest on the planet, AFAIK) that covers darn near everything you need to know about scanning. So let's get started - note that anything in blue is a link...

First let's start on the main page...

Main Page - The RadioReference Wiki

Start by reading everything in the newcomers section on the right. Bookmark the Glossary link - no doubt you will come back to it again and again

A bit further down on the right is the link for the Uniden DMA FAQ. This FAQ covers much about radios such as the 996XT. At the bottom of the FAQ you will find links to the Easier to Read manuals. Download the one for the 996XT, and/or consider getting the hard copy version from Scanner Master

There are several apps that are able to download data from our database, but to do that, you need a premium subscription

Premium Subscription Information Page

There's another route to getting data; we have a very busy Missouri forum; make yourself known there. When you decide on what software you are going to use, ask folks for a file. Be specific about the software and scanner you are using; not all formats are interchangeable with one another. In addition there are 2 Yahoo mailing lists, the 2nd of which seems to be quite busy;

ScanMetroStLouis : Scan St. Louis - Metro Area Scanning

StLASE : Saint Louis Area Scanner Enthusiasts

In all 3 cases, you might find someone to help with the antenna. NEVER try to erect an antenna alone! Get some help first. It's quite possible a local ham would be willing and able to help - you never know until you ask

That should be more than enough to get you started. best regards...Mike

Thanks, I'll get busy reading.

 

[hummeri7582]

...It sound like you have a pretty good grasp on the subject already. This is by far the best site for radio information. Enjoy the new toy your dad sent you and may you have many years of fun with your scanner.

Well, I do have some radio experience (other than the one in the car) that I forgot to mention: When I was a kid, I had this set of Radio Shack walkie-talkies. My friends and I used to play Military and Espionage games with them. I found it odd that they were excellent for picking up a couple truck drivers three states away talking about things that would not make any sense until a few years later when puberty hit, while my friends and I were unable to talk to one another across the yard with them.

Hummer, depending on your specific location, you may not need an elaborate outdoor antenna at all in order to get started. If you don't have a simple, back-of-the-set antenna right now, get one of those. Then focus on getting the software set up so that you can program the scanner. Learn how the scanner functions using the previous posters' suggestions. I would bet that more than half of the scanner users on RadioReference forums do not use anything more than a back-of-set antenna, or at most a simple indoor antenna. Proceeding to set up an outdoor antenna without having your scanner programmed and running will be difficult, since you won't be able to evaluate the installation.

This is what I was hoping to hear. I will try to find an indoor antenna and give it a try. I'm not sure if things like buildings will be a problem though. I live in a pretty densely populated area of the city, and if you've ever been to St. Louis, you know everything here is made of brick. Everything. Including my house. I have difficulty getting cell phone signal inside, yet outside it's no problem. I hope the same won't be true of the types of frequencies this radio uses.

Wish I had a wealthy, flighty and capricious retired father who sent me bcd996xts....

My dad is pretty cool. He was an engineer and has always been into technology and things like that. He bought my mom a microwave in the mid 70s. That made her the first woman in our small town to have a microwave oven. She literally had people she didn't even know showing up at the door asking to see how it worked. (I inherited that microwave when I went to college, and it was still running up until a few years ago) First in the neighborhood with a VCR. He used to build his own stereo equipment using Heathkit stuff. He bought his first home computer in 1983. Pretty much a first generation adopter in pretty much everything. There is pretty much nothing he won't try, especially if it comes to "fixing" things.

I'm the apple that fell far from the tree. I got sent to college to study engineering, but wound up going into economics and law. I guess it must skip a generation or something?



Anyway, thanks to you all for the advice, links and other info. I'm going to try and make some sense of this and see what happens.

 

[W8RMH]

QUOTE: I'm not sure if things like buildings will be a problem though. I live in a pretty densely populated area of the city, and if you've ever been to St. Louis, you know everything here is made of brick. Everything. Including my house. I have difficulty getting cell phone signal inside, yet outside it's no problem. I hope the same won't be true of the types of frequencies this radio uses.

REPLY: Cell phones are very low power. They only need to communicate with the nearest cell tower which is usually only a few blocks away, where public safety communications need to travel across the county and can be heard at further distances. Frequencies in the 400 to 900 mhz. range, (used in most systems) usually penetrate buildings fairly well.

 

[contenda]

Let me guess. A stand up comic IRL?

 

[pjtnascar]

Sell the antenna on craigs list or ebay, and set up the scanner near the window. You should be fine.